Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra

Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra is conceivably a larger topic than the "rest" of Cleopatra put together. These links are therefore a good start, but not everything.

Guides

Study Guide for Antony and Cleopatra prepared by the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN. The guide is thick—83 pages thick—and includes a timeline of Shakespeare's life (with world events en regard), plot synopsis, assessments of the play's value and meaning, a glossary of difficult words, a timeline of Cleopatra's world, costumes, questions for discussion, and—will wonder's never cease?—an essay by Minnesotan Walter Mondale!

Antony and Cleopatra Research Material compiled for "Shakespeare in Europe." This excellent set of resources and links includes various web pages not picked up here, with reviews and pictures of various performances.

Enjoying 'Antony and Cleopatra,' by William Shakespeare by Ed Friedlander, an entertaining omnigatherum—plot, an eclectic set of links and commentary:

"Except for a tendency to grand gestures, the hero of "Antony and Cleopatra" does not seem very likable. But for some reason his closest comrades love him. It's hard not to notice this, and be puzzled. What is happening? Military service bonds men. It brings meaning and happiness, and it destroys Eros and Enobarbus. Shakespeare's study of the irrational power of male bonding forms a counterpoint to the study of overwhelming sexual love."

Amazon. Cliffs Notes to Antony and Cleopatra by James and Kathryn Bellman.

Wikipedia on Shakespeare's play. Good short info.

Web Archive: The Story of Antony and Cleopatra: A Comparative Exploration of Text and Source. This is an interesting project, now unfortunately only available via the Wayback Machine.

A very impressive list of Cleopatra links and resources (many broken now) from the wonderful site Shakespeare in Europe. The list includes translations of Antony and Cleopatra into various European languages. Author unknown, from the University of Basel.

Texts

The play, broken into scenes from MIT.

Bartleby.com edition.

Movie and television versions

DVD: 1981 Lynn Redgrave / Timothy Dalton version by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Amazon reviews range between pleased and horrified, eg., "This is the kind of productions that make kids hate Shakespeare. Do not buy this video if you have any sense."

VHS: 1974 version with Janet Suzman, Richard Johnson and Patrick Stewart. There's not much on the net about this one.

IMDB has a user comment by bongoz that's basically a review—it changed his life.

Productions

The Cleopatra Costume on Stage and in Film by C. David Claudon, a major site on Cleopatra on the stage and the silver screen, an "extensive look at how the character of Cleopatra has been visualized both on stage and in film." Includes sections from 1603 and after.

Mob-themed version from Frank Cwiklik, director of Bitch Macbeth.

"'Antony and Cleopatra': More Rowdy Than Regal" by Ben Brantley, review of a 1997 production directed Barrie Rutter (October 1997)

Royal Shakespeare Company production , Alan Bates as Antony, Frances de la Tour as Cleopatra (2000). Includes reviews, photos, etc.

Shakespeare Theatre (DC), 1996–97

Slapstick production St. Petersburgh (Russia) "Comic Trust"

Peter Brook Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1978.

Alan Rickman Royal National Theatre, from a Dutch Rickman fansite.

Photographs of the New Globe Theatre's Antony and Cleopatra (1999) and more.